


A Dog in Brockton Bay

by Dog_of_Fate_Alice_Maria



Category: Parahumans Series - Wildbow
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-21
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2019-04-25 23:32:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14389410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dog_of_Fate_Alice_Maria/pseuds/Dog_of_Fate_Alice_Maria
Summary: I never wanted to be a Hero. It seemed so much like a giant mess, and even more so since Mom died. What with giant monsters all over. And then I woke up with a Voice in my head. A Voice that spoke of grand adventures and worlds of pain not my own. And it's dragging me into this mess, not taking no for an answer. I hope to whatever God is listening that I don't end up dead for this.





	1. The Start of My Life

I stared at the person that looked back at me in the mirror. She looked back at me just as I did at her. I wasn't upset with myself at this point, no... But I was angry at other things. Such as how I was still dealing with  **them**  the same way even after I changed. A voice spoke in the back of my head, and I tried to ignore it. It was always there, just waiting to talk to me. Granted, it wasn't always annoying, but I was in the middle of thinking so-

 _'You do realize that you have school in an hour, right?'_  It asked, snapping me out of my funk.

"An... Hour?" I asked aloud, only then looking at the time. Sure enough, I had an hour to get to school before I was tardy. In a few seconds, I was rushing to get dressed. "You could have told me before!"

 _'And miss you acting like this? HA! No way in the world, kid!'_  It responded, laughing over the growls that left my lips. So annoying to deal with when it decided to make fun of my situations like this.

And I hadn't even started my day yet! How could this day get any worse!?

-0-0-0-0-

I growled as I stepped off the bus, liquid rolling down my face still. I wasn't sure if it was orange juice or if it was some other kind of drink that they had grabbed. The voice was still silent as I walked up to my house and slammed the door behind me. Dad wasn't going to be home for a long time, so I didn't need to worry about him asking me why I got home early.

I went for the bathroom again and began to wash myself off. It was only then that the Voice spoke up finally, just as I was washing myself down.

' _So... What did we learn today, kiddo?_ ' It asked, causing me to grimace.

"Depends on what you think I should have learned." The Voice scoffed a little as I continued to clean my hair.

' _Well... You should have done a lot of things.'_ I could almost imagine it counting off the things that I should have done on fingers. _'You should have stood up to them. You should have told the teacher as useless as those idiots are. You should have done something about the bitch who took your homework away from you. Hmm... So much you could have done so much shit that counting it out is silly to try._ '

Soon, all I was doing was standing in the rushing stream of warm water as I thought it out. Of course the Voice would say these things with it in the position it was in. It was only inside of my head, it wasn't in my shoes that dealt with this abuse from the three... No, it was the whole school now. My glare wasn't ignored by the voice as it noted it, but I spoke before it could get too far in talking. I wasn't dealing with it talking too much right now.

"Oh right. Like I am you. I'm not a warrior, Alice. If I was, then I would have gotten in trouble for 'hurting the innocent girls'." My gaze soon was aimed at the door. "And even if they would help me, it's not like anything would come from it all!" My fist hit the wall, and a crack echoed through the room. Looking back at the fist, I saw the wall was a little cracked at where I hit.

The voice, or rather Alice was silent as I stepped from the shower and began to dry myself off. "And one more thing... You said you were toning down the amount of energy that you were giving me."

' _I did. If you were at the power you had when they took that flute that wall would have a hole in it!'_ Alice was rather proud of her achievement, even if it didn't make anything better in the end. _'And I promise, I'll tone it down if you need me to._ ' I sighed as I walked into my bedroom, making sure my backpack was sitting nicely on the desk as I grabbed my notebook. Another day to add to the book on what happened to me by their hands. Unconsciously, I soon found myself looking at the other book that held my other notes.

"..." I finished up the notes on what the Trio did to me as I opened the other book. These notes weren't on what I was dealing with in terms of the Trio, but it did deal with the Voice.

Notes on what it apparently allowed me to do, notes on what the Voice had done in its 'life' before I met it a long time ago, and notes on... What the Voice was planning. It so far was nearly halfway full, seeing as Alice had so many plans on what to do with the world. Plans that included the annihilation of Empire Eighty Eight and their ideals, the Endbringers, Slaughterhouse Nine, and more. Not to mention that it was always in terms of using myself to enact said goals.

Even against my wishes. I was lucky it couldn't take over my body at this point, but judging by what it was talking about when it thought I wasn't listening, it was coming so close to enacting a plan for control. That or this plan was dealing with controlling something else, but so far I was thinking it was going to control me.

The Voice was silent as I put down what it was planning and the other things it was giving me. It was a few minutes later when I finished up and walked to my bed, laying down on it. I drifted off, ignoring everything around me, wondering how I was going to deal with things later on.

-0-0-0-0-

I smiled at Dad when he finally came home from work. Working at the Docks was something the Voice always was annoyed with. Too dangerous, it said. Too stupid to always go there, it said. But he still worked there and the Voice was always annoyed with that. It was silent even now as he walked into the house, smiling at me.

"Hey kid. How was your day?" My smile almost faltered at his words. I'd been lying to him so long it was almost funny how much. But I didn't have the ability to tall him the truth. Everything would only get worse for me.

"My day was fine, Dad." I responded as I walked for the couch.

' _Liar~_ ' Alice spoke up and my eyes narrowed and my lips moved up into a near snarl. Maybe I was becoming too much like her if I was acting like this. Nearly three months since it got into my life and already the calm and scared girl had made way for an annoyed and easy to anger girl. Then again, it never shut up, so perhaps this was normal.

"That's good to hear. Anyway, I'll be heading out to work early tomorrow. A new project just landed in our laps and I'm going to go help them out." He rubbed the back of his neck as he moved to the fridge. I nodded slightly and sighed. This was happening a lot lately, seeing how the Voice was noticing something always happening around Brockton Bay. Things both small and big, small in who was walking in the background of the news and big in what bad things were happening in terms of the gangs.

I ignored the news as the Voice spoke up again. ' _Hmm... Seems like more of a stalemate today. E88 is not seeming to push from what they're saying, though from what Miss Lawson is saying it may mean the ABB is looking to push into Merchant turf. What with drug houses getting attacked by ABB members._ ' It continued on with whatever ramblings it decided to talk about. Though, then again Alice was talking a bit more since a few days ago.

' _Taylor._ ' I nearly jumped from my spot when Alice spoke up, this time to me. ' _It is going to be tonight... Right?_ '

"I can't. Dad'll-"

' _He'll be out by the time we get out of the house and into the house. You said we'd try it. And if we continue to wait..._ ' I didn't look at the TV, seeing as my reflection would be one black screen away from looking right back at me.

"... Fine. But if we get into a load of hell, I will not be dealing with this ever again."

I could hear the smirk in its tone as I relaxed as much as I could into the couch. ' _Oh Tay-Tay~ Thank you for agreeing! The Dog of Fate rides tonight!_ '

"... Yay..." I muttered in fake cheer as I realized that as much as I wanted to get away from the voice, the stupid being that was in my head and its insane plots, I was effectively stuck with it. And it was only going to get worse.

Well, at least tonight couldn't be too bad, right?


	2. The Night We Started

I felt like this was almost a repeat of how I started my day today. Standing in front of the mirror, looking back at the person I was. Only this time... I wasn't looking at myself. The Voice... I think I'll stop calling it- Her that. Alice suggested this outfit for some reason, and as I looked back, all I could think was 'This makes me look a bit like a villain'.

Dark colored material made a hood that covered my head, with a hastily made mask covering the upper part of my face. The rest of the costume was made of similar darker material but was far more padded then anything I expected of costumes.

' _Welp~ Seems like the armor is complete!_ ' Alice cheered. I found myself frowning at that.

"Armor?"

' _Yeah. Armor. Seriously, the Capes of this world are idiots! If they have barriers, sure. If they're Brutes, sure. Wear a costume. But for people who don't have such luxuries, they should wear armor. Like those Tinkers!_ ' I sighed at her rambling. She really didn't think Capes were all that smart, what with wearing costumes and nobody ever thinking to pad it up.

"Alright. But... Why the dark colors?" I heard her scoff at me, like I was dissing her armor.

' _Darker because they'll assume. Assume you're a villain. Much better to prove your worth by seeming evil and then helping out instead of just wearing bright colors and being instantly heroic._ '

I blinked and stared at the mirror. What the hell was she talking about. "What?"

' _Ugh! Look, take a gander at the villains of the Bay. Oni Lee wears an evil mask of an Oni and wears clothes that blend in. Totally evil. Then look at... Panacea!_ ' My mind made a mental picture of the healer. White robe, with a scarf over her lower face. The differences between us were clear and-

"Did you plan this on purpose?" Alice was dead silent when I asked her that. My entire attire looked like a reversal of what Panacea had. And due to her silence, I grew more annoyed. "Did you, Alice?"

' _... Maybe~ And mostly it's a set of armor I wore in a previous life. The mask is meant to cover your entire face, but... You would have needed a lot more effort to get all the materials to make it good, and even then it would take a hell of a lot more effort to make the armor function like it did before._ ' She explained, my gaze still glaring into the mirror from behind the mask. ' _And besides... We still need something for you to use._ '

"What, like a weapon?" I asked, arms crossed over my chest.

' _... What would you say if my answer was yes?_ ' I sighed and shook my head before walking to the exit of the bathroom.

"I'd tell you you're stupid. Besides, where would I get a weapon from?" I shut the door quietly and made for the window. As quietly as I could, I opened it and climbed out of the window to the ground. All my running on Alice's suggestion was working a little better than expected.

' _We'll find one later! For now, let's just do what heroes do! Fight evil and kick villains in the dick!_ '

I shook my head, even as my lips spread into a smile at her response. But nothing could really go that wrong... Right?

-0-0-0-0-

Dodging under another ball of flame, I screamed bloody murder. It wasn't just against the giant fucking dragon that was chasing me, but to both Alice and myself for doing the one thing a Cape should never do.

Tempt Fate. She told me that the Concept of Fate was once a living being, so perhaps there was a curse or a taboo on tempting fate? If there was, then I was going to kill Fate or someone who tempted it in front of me! Because I never wanted to run into a god damn dragon!

 _'Keep running! We can still escape him!_ ' Alice screamed, energy of some kind moving to my feel as another blast of flame hit the ground behind me. 'When we get far enough, we can escape!'

She kept screaming in my head, making me get a headache on top of me running for my life. "SHUT THE HELL UP!" I screamed as soon another blast hit not behind me, but right in front of me.

Stopping in place, I turned to look at the monster that was chasing me. Covered in silver scales, standing far over my head at what, six to ten feet tall? I wasn't sure, but I could see a tail, and the start of wings. This was insane, and this was what I was up against.

"'Aught 'ou!" The dragon laughed as I stepped back. Oh this was bad. This was really bad! The beast opened its mouth and I panicked. So I did the only logical thing I could think of.

I charged it, moving underneath it and rushing the other way. The dragon turned and roared loudly, rushing after me.

' _Why the fuck is this thing not getting someone else's attention!?_ ' She screamed as I turned into an alley way. The dragon roared and fire was belched at my, coating the walls in a mix of ash and flames. And as I looked back, the back of my costume was on fire. Panicking more, I stomped on the flames and continued to run.

"Why the fuck aren't you giving me a way to hurt this bastard!?" I demanded in return. The stomping was moving above me now, and he was on the roofs.

' _Because this damn thing I'm using to give you ways to hurt him is being an asshole!_ ' She returned. I briefly remembered her talking about something being in my head like she was, but she was different apparently. It was-

That wasn't important as the dragon crashed onto the ground behind me. What was more important was running. "This is like school all over again!" I cried, still running. Why! Why was it still after me!? I continued to run, even after I heard what sounded like something crashing into a wall. I didn't look back, not if I wanted to live.

' _KEEP RUNNING!_ ' Alice screamed, and I did just that. I ran. I ran until I ran out of breath to run and collapsed. God what the hell.

"Are... Are we..." I started before the Voice spoke up again.

' _We're Alive! WE LIVE!_ ' She began to laugh wildly, and I could imagine her crying tears of joy for our survival. I was still panting, out of breath after all that running. Looking at my hands, I saw the gloves were burnt badly.

"Alice?" I managed as she stopped laughing. "We... We need to get more powers."

' _Way ahead of you. Now... Am I allowed to-_ ' I cut her off.

"You're allowed to do whatever the fuck you want." I chuckled. She would ask what she was allowed to do, but I didn't care. "I just... I never want to deal with that shit ever again!" I didn't care where I was, cause at the moment, I was dead tired. my head touched the ground and I was out like a light. Alice could wake me up if I needed to be up.

-0-0- **ALICE** -0-0-

Being in someone's head is like watching a movie theater. A whole lotta black nothing and a screen. Well, if you're looking through the eyes, that is. It changes where you look. Take the memories for example. If you look in them, you have a whole lot of screens you can look at that repeat the same moments, changing slightly whenever you look at them long enough. If you look anywhere else? Well... It's hard to explain entirely.

See, it's like a mindscape. Correction, where I am  _is_  a mindscape. Normally, everyone has one, but it all depends if you can think of one or not. God this is hard to explain. Anyway, where I am at the moment is where I'm residing. Being inside of Tay-Tay's head to be exact, standing in front of the other thing that was inside her mindscape that could be called 'alive'.

I have no idea what the hell it is or what it's meant to be. It's like a giant ball of something, or a shard? I can't really be sure what it's meant to be, other than it's connected to Taylor's mind and body. And I already hate it enough for being here. Blaming it would be easy enough for her issues, but it was just... Not natural. I've been alive a long time and I've never seen anything like this in all my time alive.

Walking around it, I poked and prodded it. It didn't react until I poked it enough.

[QUERY]

I blinked at that. Query? "Are... You sentient?"

[NEGATIVE]

"... Weird." It seemed sentient as I continued to walk around it.

[QUERY]

I frowned. "Um... Understanding?"

[PURPOSE]

"Protection."

[PROTECTION]

"Yeah. Protection."

[SOURCE]

Source? Source of who I want to protect? I asked it just that and frowned as it didn't answer.

"The fuck are you?"

[QUEEN ADMINISTRATOR]

I blinked at the name. I never heard of it before, so perhaps it was just me. But that name... Didn't sound normal. Especially for whatever this thing was.

[QUERY]

Guess it was asking the same? God, this single word thing it was doing was starting to make me wish I could just scrap this thing. But I had to be nice. Especially seeing how limited I was in terms of energy. A remnant only had so much.

"Dog of Fate."

[AFFIRMATIVE. CESSATION] I growled aloud at that. Cessation? Stop doing what I was doing!? I was half tempted to kill the damn thing and use the corpse to make Taylor a lot stronger than she was. Using it to make energy instead of whatever it was doing now would be a much better use of my time. But... What did it even do? And why was it...

"Why cease?"

[PURPOSE] What was it-

For a moment, I thought I understood. It was trying to do something with Taylor. But since I got here first before she could activate it, it was unable to do anything about it. And since I was interacting with it now in a way other than draining energy from it, it was trying to activate itself. At least, if whatever the hell it was 'telling' me had anything to do with what my mind just got.

"Alright. You're mad, right?" I got an 'affirmative' for that. Strange how it wasn't sentient but it could get angry. "Well, we're both stuck here. I can't really leave because of my 'conditions' or whatever is keeping me here. You the same?"

[AFFIRMATIVE]

So it was in the same place as I was. Interesting. "And Queen Administrator is not just your Title?"

[QUERY]

I blinked, thinking that I said it good enough for whatever this being was to understand me. "I mean... Does your name have anything to do with what you can do? Like... You can do something like an administrator, right?"

[AFFIRMATIVE]

"... Alright then." This was getting both confusing and annoying to deal with. It just kept talking in such a stilted way. "You know what? We'll talk later on. Taylor's gonna want to hear about you. But let me say this," I pointed at the weird thing in here that went by Queen Administrator, "If you make Taylor suffer by acting up... I'll be the first one you'll wish you never had to deal with." And with that, I turned around and walked towards the memories. I had something to go over while she was still out of it.


	3. The Aftermath of that Night

My nice sleep was interrupted by a harsh light aiming towards my eyes. It hurt a bit and forced me to get up. Sitting up, my mind hurt and I felt gravel on my cheek. Brushing it off, I felt the mask still on my face. At least that was still on. It took a moment before I realized where I was. "Why... Am I on the street?" I asked myself and waited for my resident Voice to speak up.

' _Welcome back to the land of the living! Home of depression, annoyance, and annoying bullies! Oh, and giant abominations that go against anything holy. Those too._ ' I sighed. Well at least she wasn't gone. ' _As for why you're on the street... Well~ You passed out!_ '

"I... Passed out?"

' _Yep! Well... Why else would you be here. We didn't run home. We ran away from Lung. And we ended up on the street, and nobody came close to this place at all. So perhaps we're in an area where nobody really is at? I don't really know_.' I groaned and placed my head in my hands. Of course this would happen. ' _Hey! At least we aren't one of the Merchant's little toys!_ '

"Thank god for small mercies." I muttered as I made my way down the street, going off where my house would be. "Still... Wish we could have done more against that thing."

' _Well, we could have, if we had a better idea on your powers of course. Or what I could be allowed to-_ ' I cut her off then and there.

"I said that in the heat of the moment, Alice. I don't want to be a full fledged hero with super powers. A bit stronger and a bit faster? Sure. But... I don't want to have to..."

' _Join up when the real monsters show up?_ ' I only nodded to her answer. ' _Heh, kinda difficult Tay-Tay when you took on the big bad of the ABB._ '

"... What?" I stopped in the middle of the street and frowned. "Big bad of the... We took on Lung?"

' _Yep~! We didn't do much lasting damage, but we still took him on! How about that for... Taylor?_ ' I wasn't listening to her as I realized just what the hell happened.

We took on Lung. We took on the freaking Dragon. The one Cape who could battle an Endbringer to a stop. And we basically gave him the finger by trying to take him on. I began to breathe faster and faster as I realized just what this would end like. Lung burning down my house. Lung killing my dad. Everyone of the ABB aiming for my head no matter where I go!

I had to get home. I had to! I can't deal with the stress and I'm pretty sure with the sunlight like it was that dad went to work. Though... He couldn't have... I just kept running towards home, not caring of what could happen or who I could run into on the way there. I had to get home now!

-0-0-0-0-

I stayed inside the house most of the day, keeping an eye outside the windows. I was taking no chances anymore. I was not even daring fate at this point to have the ABB attack me. I could not trust Alice either. I could hear her talking about how silly I was being, how it was unlikely that Lung even got a look on my face, how unlikely it was that he could remember me.

But I didn't care. I knew that the likelihood was small. But at this point, I was too paranoid to care. I wasn't sure if Lung was even out and about, so I was not leaving.

' _Oh my god will you STOP!?_ ' I jolted at the shout that hit my mind and my face slammed into the window. I rubbed at my face and glared at the reflection.

"What? I'm preparing myself for when the ABB comes to get me! Don't just-" I was cut off by her groan.

' _Look, has he come towards here within the time period that you assumed he would come in at?_ ' I was silent as I went over the number of hours that had passed. Six hours at this point. I had assumed it would be at least three before he hunted down the entire city for me. ' _See? There is no ABB anywhere near us. So... CHILL THE HELL OUT!_ ' I flinched at the sound and sighed.

"Fine, fine." She calmed down at my words and I felt my panic recede. There was no sign of the ABB in the entire time I was holed up in the house. Walking to the kitchen, I began to make myself a snack and listened to the ambient noise of the world around us. Alice was silent and I felt like she was smiling as we just listened.

Dogs barking in the distance. Car horns beeping loudly. Some police sirens calling out to all who could hear. No gunshots sounded out, nor was there any explosions like I was used to hearing randomly within the city. Finishing up making my snack, I sat at the table and began to chew on the pieces of snack.

It was peaceful, in an odd sort of way. I didn't have to worry about the Ainz Bad Boys at the moment and their actions. I didn't need to deal with the Empire and their ideals that would only end in pain for people unlike themselves. I didn't need to deal with the Trio, the bullying and the ignorance that came with what they did. And I didn't need to deal with the PRT, and their actions which felt more like a game of cops and robbers instead of heroes taking out dangerous villains. At least, that was what Alice pointed out to me.

Instead, I was sitting in my home, eating a snack, as my voice silently listened to the noise as well. This was what I wanted every day to be instead of what it was. I smiled softly at this feeling, closing my eyes to just take in this feeling. Until Alice broke the silence with a question I was not expecting at that moment.

' _So... What are we gonna do about us being a Cape?_ ' I opened my eyes and sighed.

"I... I don't want to do anything else like that. I want... I want to be normal Taylor Hebert. Is that bad?" I asked, and she was quiet. Her answer came as I finished up my snack, and I had to go over her words when she was done.

' _No... It isn't bad. I... I just wanted you to have some adventures in your life. You're the newest Dog of Fate, for YHVH's sake! But... Maybe I was thinking too much that you were like me._ ' She chuckled softly, a self deprecating chuckle. ' _Maybe... Maybe..._ ' She was silent the rest of the time I sat in the house. I soon went to the couch and began to watch the TV. There wasn't really anything else I could do at this point, seeing as I wasn't up for going to school and dealing with the Trio.

-0-0- **?** -0-0-

The sound of scraping metal was clear to hear within the warehouse that sat on the edge of the docks. A man groaned as the door opened, his arm hanging over what could loosely be called a blade that was almost as thick as his chest. Rubbing a hand through white hair, he turned to the one causing the scraping. "Oi, Shane! Can you quit it? The blade's sharp enough as is!"

The one sharpening the blade stopped and a red gaze aimed at his own. "Perhaps... But from what I've heard, I need it sharper. With Lung roaming around the Docks more in person... I want to make sure I can kill him in one cut."

"Ugh... Yeah yeah." He groaned as he looked at the person in the door. A smaller girl with blonde hair walked in, a smile on her face. "So, any news on your end?"

"Yup yup!" She chuckled, crossing her arms. "Got news from our guys in the Rig. Lung... Was captured last night~"

The man nearly fell over as he stared at her. "You serious Nia? You ain't pulling my leg?" The girl laughed.

"Nope~ Lung was captured by Armsmaster and Missy Militia after a long encounter. Wards and everything were there! He was nearly seventeen feet tall when they put his ass down!"

Shane spoke up, causing the man to look over. A black jumpsuit covered her body, and her sword hung at her side now. "So... Lung's not an issue now?"

"Nope! Which means the ABB is gonna be flipping out over what happens next! And that means..." She moved a hand over to the man, who smirked.

"Which means we can finally start the plan we've been working on, right? Start up a damn Crusade?"

Nia shook her head. "Not a Crusade... Sounds so archaic nowadays. How about... The Five Knights?"

Shane frowned. "The other two are ready then?"

"Yep!" The girl said haughtily, "Their tech is perfected and ready to be used! A rifle that can both be a sniper and a machine gun at once, and a hand cannon beyond all notions of hand cannons! Even if they ain't Parahumans, they can certainly take em down like they are."

The man's smile only grew larger at this. "Oh yeah, the Five Knights sounds perfect for us. We have anyone else joining in?"

The sword user shook her head. "None of the Dock Workers would join us. Too tightly knit of a group to persuade. I'll work on the other areas of town, Seig."

"Got it." He nodded, grabbing his weapon and lifting it with ease. "Nia. Make more weapons. Make it snappy too. If we're gonna take territory from the ABB while Lung's under wraps, we need a lot more than we got. Can't have your power wasted on trivial weapons, now can we?" He asked, his smile never leaving his face as he made his way to the door.

"Understood boss!" She chuckled as she walked deeper into the warehouse, waiting for the door to shut before she snapped her fingers. Machines sprung to life and a faux humanoid stepped forward. Clanky and with spare parts poking out of it, it waited for instructions.

"Begin protocol 8-Zeta-2. We're making things perfectly~" She chuckled darkly as she began to tinker with designs in her head.

-0-0- **?** -0-0-

In a dark corner of Brockton Bay, two cloaked figures stood before a gathered group of eleven in number. Beak shaped masks made out of a bone like material covered their faces, the faces of all the people within the room. One stepped forward, their cloak covered in white markings that were lost on the people before them. They raised their hands, and silence filtered into the room. They spoke in a thick accent, almost unable to be understood by some of the gathered.

"Peace, brothers. It is an honor to be standing before you today, to share the goals of our leader. Since the beginning of the age of man, we have become weak. Those who lead us now are weak. They do not understand what we need. They believe we need peace, that to commit oneself to anger and to fight is not the way we are meant to be. They are weak, therefore they do this to protect themselves.

"But look at the Endbringers. The three we see are showing us that the only way humanity can survive is by war! By combat! By the annihilation of all who stand before us! They are the examples of what we must become! Our leader has already taken the first step towards this path! I cannot share this detail with you, brothers, as I know not myself. But one day, we too shall take this step that he took!" Throwing their arms out before him, they raised them to the ceiling.

"We are the New Oprichnik! We stand in the shadows! We shall bring forth a new world! Where those who stand in this world as rulers will step aside or be torn asunder! And even then, we shall let the people who are strong enough step up towards ascension! For now-" The person looked at every member in the eye. "Go back to your families. Rest. Know that you will have your duties soon. But know and look to the moon. Look towards the moon and think of what our leader will bring you. Ascension from this weakness you feel, and power beyond your wildest dreams." Lowering their arms, they watched as the eleven left the room.

The one who stood to their side spoke up when they had all left and the door was shut, "We should prepare for our first step, brother."

"Indeed." Reaching for the mask, the figure who spoke took it off and looked at their comrade. "Inform those at the mainland that we have members who wish to join us in our duties." Walking past, the shadows morphed around them and cut a hole in the wall with almost blade-like edges. The other nodded and their form faded, and nothing remained in the dark corner of the Bay except for the outline of a hole in the wall.

* * *

**Thus ends Chapter 3. I added these two new gangs as to expand this world a bit more, seeing as the main groups of Worm Canon kind of teeter out when the Undersiders take over. But I do hope you enjoy this chapter and have a good day.**


	4. A New School Day

As I sat in class, my emotional state already went down the drain. It had been about a day since I got home after the 'fight' with Lung and it seemed like the leader of the ABB was captured the same night I ran into him. A god sent glory if I had ever heard of one. But then I had to go to school, and deal with the Trio yet again. Alice was mostly silent, informing me what I should put down on my work when she felt I needed help, but other than that, she was silent.

It was disconcerting, seeing how many times she spoke during school before. But at this point, seeing how she reacted after the incident yesterday, perhaps I should have expected this. Pushing my glasses back into my eyes, I watched as one of the Trio, Madison, laughed in one of the corners of the room with two other girls. I wasn't sure who they were, but I was pretty sure they were with the Trio in the 'Taylor Bashing' club.

I watched as the teacher, Mister Gladly entered the room. My dislike for him had grown to near full-blown hatred since I started to notice my emotional state change. He was daft, almost embarrassingly so in my opinion. He never noticed anything like people who weren't ok with group work, nor did he notice the laughable amounts of teasing, terrorizing and such that was right in front of his face. Hell, most of the teachers were like him, but he was the worst by far.

I knew my book for this class was essentially ruined, but going up to ask him for another one would be like telling Madison that yes, she had ruined my day three days ago with her prank and that yes, I would need to pay thirty five dollars that I didn't have for a new book that I didn't care for. Even then, I had none of the work done for class, so whatever. Joining the group with the least amount of people when he let us separate into groups, I sat down with two guys named Sparky and Greg. Sparky was what I would affectionately call a stereotypical drummer.

Long hair, seemed like he was drugged out of his damn mind to the point where it's almost funny how much he seems out of it. Greg is his polar opposite. Smart, but way to in the moment. And in the moment is stretching it, seeing as he is just talking about what he's thinking to the point where it gets beyond annoying with how much he is talking. I wish I could shove a sock in his face to shut him up.

"I didn't get much done," Greg said, "I got distracted by this new game I got and it is really really good, it's called Space Opera, have you played it?"

I had to hold myself back from bashing my head into the desk as he just went on the damn topic of this stupid game. Space Opera. From what Alice once told me, that was a term used for drama like situations in space, so having a game called that was beyond pretentious. In my honest opinion, which I didn't share as I was on a tightrope between strangling him and beating my head into the desk hard enough to break it.

"…you have to understand it's a genre, and it's one I've really been getting into it lately, since I started watching this anime called – Oh, hey, Julia!" After a minute of listening to him, he finally stopped. As I looked up, I realized with about as much joy as I could that it was one of Madison's many friends. I basically ignored her and looked at Greg's book when she sat next to our group. Pretty sure she could have joined Madison's group, but no. Here she was. And since the Trio Member's group was right next to ours, she just chatted along with them like our group was not of any issue.

"Do you have your work Taylor?" Greg asked the 'dreaded' yet not really question. I could cut the silence of the other group with a damn butter knife.

"Greg. Do you have your work?" I asked in turn, sidestepping the question as he brought it out. I began to scan it over, noting the information he had on capes and how they influenced society before I heard Julia mutter aloud.

"Ew... Taylor what the hell?" I glanced over and noticed how her hand was sticky and had orange goo on it. So that was what they covered me in before.

"Oh, do you like it?" I asked, my 'lessons' on how to act around bullies from Alice finally paying off. "Sophia did that to me. So messy, I know. I spent the whole day having to wash that out of my hair and eyes and stuff. Maybe it'll be brown this time, if she manages to get the Dr. Pop before everyone else does. Or purple if the grape stuff is on sale." I could she her working through my comments before I spoke up again.

"Man, why were you going through my bag, Julia? Were you looking for something?" She blinked and I continued on. "Maybe if you  _asked_  I would have helped you out. Unless you were reaching for your bag, of course."

She gave a disgusted look and stood, heading for the door to wash her hand off. I turned to see Sparky actually in the moment, giving a small nod before he was out of it. Greg just stared at me. Silence still reigned until the end of class, where everyone left the room. The things inbetween then and the moment class ended were a missmash of annoyance and ignorance, so I pretty much zoned out and went over my panic yesterday.

What caught me before I could leave was Mr. Gladly saying, "I'd like you to stick around for a few minutes, Taylor." I stopped right at the door and turned, schooling my expression as much as I could. Madison looked pleased as she walked past, and I found it harder to keep my anger from showing.

Walking over to him, I raised an eyebrow in questioning as he spoke, "I'm not stupid, you know."

"Okay then." I responded.

"I have something of an idea of what goes on in my classroom. I don't know exactly who, but I know some people are giving you a pretty hard time." Was he... Paying attention? This was a first.

"Alright."

"I saw the mess left on your usual seat today. I remember a few weeks back when glue was smeared on your desk and chair. There was also the incident that happened at the start of the year. All of your teachers had a meeting about that."

I felt Alice bristle in my head, her voice a soft growl. Almost like a dog would growl. I wasn't too happy how he was bringing up the event, but he was paying attention. However much good that did.

"And I'm guessing there's more that I don't know about?"

"Plenty more that you don't." I answered.

"I asked you after the glue incident. I'm asking you again. Would you be willing to go to the office with me, to talk with the principal and vice principal?"

I nearly couldn't suppress a laugh at this. Really? He was asking this  _now_? "And how would this go, eh?"

He raised an eyebrow at me. "We'd have a discussion about what's been going on. You would name the person or people you believe responsible, and each of them would be called in to talk to the principal, in turn." Oh this just got better and better. As if the Trio could ever be captured like that. They were smarter than he was in that regard.

"Yeah... Tell me, would they be expelled?" I asked, both of us on my side knowing the answer he'd give before he even spoke.

Mr. Gladly shook his head, "If there was enough proof, they would be suspended for several days, unless they've done something very serious. Further offenses could lead to longer suspensions or expulsion." And there it was. Just a suspension and a possible expulsion. And what happens when the rat gets caught doing this or is even suspected? Dead ass Taylor in the water was the answer.

"Then no thanks, sir." This caught him off guard as I adjusted the bag on my back. "I already tried to get you guys to help, after that incident, but... Sadly, we both know that is impossible."

"Taylor... You need to start somewhere."

"Oh, I am. And the place I'm starting is in where I plan to have this stop. And where it will all end up is in the air." I left the class without a care for what he was saying as I walked out. Only to see what awaited me in the hall.

The Trio stood with a dozen girls standing with them. Madison wore a smirk on her face as she moved aside for my old friend, Emma. I felt my eye twitch as she smiled at me, a smile as sweet as the honey of a fly trap.

Julia spoke up first, "Nobody likes her. Nobody wants her here."

"Such a loser. She didn't even turn in the major project for art, last Friday," Sophia, one of the Trio, responded.

They just stood there, not pushing me towards a corner as I stood my ground. For once, I was trying to stand up to them, as per Alice's suggestion. Their comments continued, but Emma didn't say a word. That smile made me more disgusted with her than anything. To think that I was a friend with her was even more sickening. Their taunts and such continued even as Mr. Gladly stepped out of his room.

A small part of myself hoped that he would help me, that he would do something to stop this. But even as their taunts continued and he looked at me, he soon adjusted the files under his arm and walked off, not even sparing a glance back at me. I heard stories of this happening from Alice a while ago, but to have this actually happen to me was... It was... That small part of me became dead silent. It was so much like how she told me people could act. Monsters who cared not for you unless you were special. Not giving a damn unless they got something out of you.

Their taunts continued until Emma spoke up for the first time since she showed up. "What's the matter, Taylor?" Emma said, "You look upset." I had to nearly physically hold back a 'fuck you' that threatened to escape from myself. How I now felt the urge to say just that to her. As I was about to say something back, she spoke up again, "So upset you're going to cry yourself to sleep for a straight week?"

My body tensed up. No, she wouldn't! What was I saying, of course she would! She turned traitor on me at the start of highschool and she would never give a damn about things that I never wanted to hit the light of day! To bring up the one thing that could remind me of... Of...

My hands became fists and I had to hold myself back from using the minor powers Alice gave me on her. Innocent little Emma, who probably never knew a day of misery or pain in her life! I felt tears fall down my face and Madison took note of it and pointed it out. All of them began to laugh at me before I acted. I walked through them, Sophia moving to trip me over but failed as I stormed through it.

I felt like the only thing I could feel was rage, pain, and more. As I heard them talk up again, I just continued until I was outside of Winslow and began to walk down the streets. Fuck school, fuck the Trio, and fuck the bitches that made my life a giant mess! None of them cared! Nobody cared! So as I continued down the streets, I listened as Alice spoke up finally.

' _Is this the choice we're making then, Taylor?_ ' I just growled in response to her question, which she took as her answer. ' _Thought so. School... School's good when you plan to have something academic or such as your job. I mean... If you plan to-_ '

I cut her off then, "I am not being anything they want me to be. I... We're being a hero." I was not dealing with anything that people wanted of me.

' _... I have taught you well, young grasshopper._ ' I heard the smugness in Alice's tone and chuckled to myself. Of course I was the padawan to her master. As Alice began to mutter things, I stopped myself at a garbage can and took off my backpack. Things really had changed, I noted to myself as I looked at the thing. If... If I never had Alice take form in my head, would I have reacted as I had to the Trio? I doubted it.

Opening the bag, I dumped everything into the garbage and zipped it back up. I would need to put something into the bag so that dad didn't become suspicious. Not to mention deleting any phone messages that would probably come in when the school called him. But if they sent the police to the house I might get into a bind. "So... What now?"

 _'Now? Now we should... Huh. I'm not really sure what we should do. I mean... We could do a lot of things at this point. We have so much that we can do at this point if we ignore something like school. But now?_ ' I waited for her answer as I almost felt a chill run down my neck.

' _Now we go hunting for some cash. Up for a drug bust?_ '


End file.
